Typically, Web page's full-size photos or other graphic images are not included in a Web page because most Internet users are limited to relatively slow network connections, such as a modem connected to the Internet over a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) line, operating at speeds less than 56 Kbits/sec. Graphically intensive Web pages generally do not load within a reasonable period of time (i.e., less than a minute) for users connected to the Internet through such a modem. Since images are a popular medium of expression in Web pages, there has been a conflict between the desire to incorporate image content in Web pages, and the need to limit the amount of data that must be transmitted per Web page, to reduce the time required to load a Web page. One popular method of including images in Web pages while reducing the amount of data that must be transferred for each page is to include small images or thumbnail images in the Web page, each thumbnail image representing a corresponding larger image. Since the amount of data required in a Web page for displaying an image is directly proportional to the number of pixels in the displayed image, any reduction in the size of an image included in a Web page causes a corresponding decrease in the amount of data that must be downloaded by the user for viewing the image. A thumbnail image created from an original (full size) image typically conveys sufficient information so that a person viewing the thumbnail image can visually determine the content of the original image. Thus, Web pages that display thumbnail images instead of the original larger images download more quickly and still communicate the desired graphic content to the user.
Each thumbnail image is hyperlinked to its parent original image. By selecting the thumbnail image (generally by using a pointing device such as a mouse to position a cursor on the thumbnail image and then double clicking with the select button), the original image will be transferred to the user's browser program so that the user can readily view the original image if desired. By viewing the thumbnail images, the user can select and download only those original images that are of particular interest.
In the prior art, if a user is creating or editing an existing Web page and wants to insert a thumbnail image to represent a larger image, several manual steps are required. It is necessary for the user to first produce the thumbnail image using an image editing program, insert the thumbnail image into the Web page, and then associate a hyperlink back to the original larger image from the thumbnail image so that when the thumbnail image is selected by someone viewing the Web page, the full size original image will be retrieved and displayed. This process must be repeated for each individual image included. Microsoft Corporation's FRONTPAGE 2000™ Web page creation and editing software has automated the insertion of individual thumbnail images, so that the user can more readily insert a thumbnail image representing a larger original image into a Web page. However, many individuals who wish to create a personal Web page will want to include a plurality of images, such as pictures related to a wedding, a graduation, a vacation, or some other event that is important in their life, e.g., producing a photo gallery of the event.
When creating Web pages, especially Web pages that incorporate a considerable amount of content such as thumbnail images hyperlinked to original parent images, the file management and structural organization required can be challenging, particularly for the casual user. It would be desirable to not only provide tools to save repetitive steps required when incorporating thumbnail images into Web pages, but to also provide tools that automatically introduce some structure and organization into an otherwise flat process.
Clearly, it would be desirable to enable a plurality of images to be incorporated into a Web page as thumbnail images in a single operation, rather than requiring each image to be added individually through a series of manual steps, or even as an automated process that must be repeated for each image. It would also be desirable to provide a plurality of user-friendly templates that automatically define several different formats for a plurality of thumbnail images on a Web page, so that a casual user can easily create an aesthetically-pleasing gallery of thumbnail images with a minimum of effort. The prior art does not teach or suggest such a tool.